The Cell: Aftermath
by kingdomflower
Summary: Post 7x03. Vague spoilers for The Cell. AU. Daryl is rescued from The Sanctuary. Carol takes him home.


The raid on The Sanctuary was chaotic. As much as they planned, it was a blaze of gun fire. Carol barely remembered any of it, fighting her way to the cells. Taking out the guards and stealing the cell keys was the easy part. But with each cell she opened, her heart plummeted more. Men had died in these cells, some long since dead but left perhaps as a moaning reminder to a nearby captive.

She nearly kept on going after the third cell, but a flash of brown hair caught her eye. She looked closer, her heart breaking at the realization. Daryl. He was naked, curled up against the wall. He didn't react to the door opening, or her walking inside. She studied him, searching for, and finding, the slight rise and fall of his chest. He was alive.

"Daryl," she whispered.

Nothing.

Tentatively, she reached a hand out and touched his knee. His body jerked and his eyes opened, wide with fear.

"It's okay. It's okay. It's just me. It's Carol." She removed her hand from his knee.

He blinked rapidly, staring at her.

"We have to get you out of here." She kept her voice low. "Can you stand?"

Slowly he stretched his legs out, using his hands to lift himself off the ground. Carol removed her coat, handing it to him.

"It won't fit you, but you can tie it around your waist until we get out of here." It wasn't ideal, but it would do.

Carol peeked out of the cell door just in time to see Rick coming around the corner.

"He's here," she called softly.

Rick nodded and approached the cell.

"Give me your jacket," she commanded.

Rick narrowed his eyes at her, but did as she asked. She handed the coat to Daryl, who put it on quickly.

Rick nodded at Daryl. "Follow me. We're mostly clear, but I want to make sure we don't run into anyone else. Van's on the hill out back."

Without giving it a second thought, Carol reached for Daryl's hand and gripped it tightly. The Sanctuary was a maze of corridors and Carol wondered how Rick could possibly remember the correct way to go, but before long they were outside, and she could see their van. He pushed them ahead.

"Up there. Go. I'll cover you."

She ran up the hill, not stopping, half dragging Daryl behind her. The back doors of the van burst open, and Eugene popped his head out, offering a hand up. He closed the doors and locked them, maneuvering back to the front seat, leaving Carol and Daryl in the back.

"There's a blanket in here…" Carol said, searching blindly with her hands under the middle seat until she found it.

She turned to Daryl, sitting with his knees against his chest. "Here," she offered.

He didn't take it, just rested his head on his knees. Carol sighed and wrapped it around his shoulders.

It was pouring rain by the time they got back to Alexandria. Thunder was rolling in, and every time they heard a clap, Daryl jumped. Carol tried not to think about what they had done to him. She couldn't focus on that now. Getting him safe and warm was the priority. Everything else would come later.

Rick pulled the van in front of their house, the back doors as close to the porch steps as possible. Carol exited first, running up the steps and opening the door before turning back to see Eugene lend Daryl a hand out of the van. That he took it spoke volumes. There was no urgency in his movements, despite the rainstorm. Once he was inside, he was dripping wet.

"Let's get you upstairs, okay?" Again, she reached for his hand and he grasped it lightly, letting her lead him up the stairs. She led him to her room, which was across the hall from his. She wasn't sure why, but didn't stop to question. Daryl didn't either. He just stood in the doorway, shaking.

Carol wasn't sure if it was shock, cold, or a combination of the two. "Okay. Let's get you warm, okay?" She led him to her bathroom, letting him stand by the window while she turned the shower on. Thunder clapped not far away and he jumped, squaring his shoulders against an unseen threat.

She frowned, not sure how she would get him out of the blanket and jackets. He could undress himself under normal circumstances, but she wasn't getting much of a response out of him for anything.

"Can you take these off?" She reached out and touched the soaked blanket. "I can leave while you do that."

Without looking at her, he dropped the blanket and shrugged out of Rick's jacket before untying the one at his waist, letting it fall to the floor. Okay then. One mission accomplished.

She turned back to the shower and felt the water. "It's good and warm for you," she pronounced, trying to give him a modicum of privacy while he stood there naked before her. "You get in. I'm going to grab some clothes for you."

It wasn't hard to find warm clothes for Daryl. He never wore them, so the sweatshirt and jogging pants she'd folded neatly and placed in his drawer were still in the exact same spot she'd left them. She took them and a couple of towels from her closet and headed back to the bathroom, knocking on the door she'd only left open a crack.

"Daryl? It's only me."

Placing the clothes and towels on the sink, she stared at the shower curtain. Was he okay in there? She didn't want to pry, but she wasn't exactly confident in his emotional state, either.

"Can you just…tell me if you need anything?"

Silence. Fuck.

She moved closer to the curtain. "Daryl? If you don't answer me, I'm going to have to check on you in there."

Still nothing. Hesitantly, she pulled the curtain back just enough. He was standing there, under the water, not moving. Staring off into the distance.

Carol bit her lip. She really, really didn't want to invade his space, especially considering where he'd just come from and the state she found him in. But she couldn't just leave him in there. She sighed, decision made. She toed off her shoes and unbuttoned her pants, sliding them off with her socks. She pulled her sweater over her head, leaving her t-shirt on. A t-shirt and panties would have to do.

"Daryl, I'm coming in, okay?" A part of her wanted him to perk up at that, waving her away in his usual fashion. But still silence.

She stepped into the shower slowly, his back to her. "I'm here, okay?" She bit back a quip about her still being dressed. This wasn't the time for their usual banter.

Tentatively, she reached for his shoulder. He didn't flinch under her touch, though she could feel him still trembling. "We're going to get you clean, and then under the covers." She hoped narrating her ministrations would help, but her touch didn't seem to register with him. She grabbed the soap and a washcloth, gently washing his back. His bandage was already soaked, so she peeled it off. She could replace it with a clean one later. She did his shoulders and down his arms, but stopped at his waist. She didn't want to push him.

"Can you turn around?" Her hands on his shoulders guided him to face her, but he was still staring into space. "I'm going to do your chest now." She washed him as gently as she could, the water running brown at their feet. Another soaked bandage removed, and she reached for his hands, rubbing them with the washcloth. His legs began to shake, and his knees buckled. She reacted quickly, reaching under his arms and guiding him slowly to the floor. Another thunder clap, and he jumped again. She considered just getting him out of the shower, but lord, his hair was disgusting. She knelt in front of him, watching, but he resumed the same slightly catatonic state he'd been in.

"Okay. Just one more minute. Let me wash your hair, okay?"

He didn't respond, so she gently tipped his head back to the water, running her hands through his hair. Satisfied with her work, she guided his head back up and reached behind her for the shampoo bottle he'd brought back for her on a recent run.

"I'm sorry. It's peaches. All I have." She poured some into her hands and ran it through his hair, trying to avoid the tangles and knots as best she could. She wasn't exactly sure when he'd last tended to his hair, but she was pretty sure she'd have to use the entire bottle on him.

"Rinse now," she pronounced, tipping his head back into the stream. She frowned, his hair still an oily mess. "Okay, once more. We're here, let's get it over with. Can you…" She lifted his head, guiding his shoulders down. It might be better if she could see what she was doing. He slumped perfectly, giving her full access.

She lathered his hair again, her fingers gently working his scalp. She felt, more than heard, his sigh as he bowed his head. "That's much better. We're almost done here, I promise." She scolded the selfish part of her that hated to stop touching him, not knowing if he'd allow it again. All she wanted was to comfort him. The sight of him before her, completely yielding to her touch, made her heart ache.

"Daryl," she whispered, her hands guiding his chin up. "Can you look at me?"

To her relief, he did. For a brief moment, he let her see every horror he'd been subjected to, and then it was gone, his head bowing down to rest on her shoulder. Her hands rose to hold his head gently there as his arms wound around her. She whispered a silent thank you to any god that might be listening as he began to cry.

"I'm here, love. And I'm not going anywhere." She shed silent tears as they held each other, the thunder rolling in the distance. Safe in her arms, he no longer jumped at the sound.

Carol felt the water start to cool. "I think we should rinse you off and get you out of here, okay?"

He nodded against her neck, rising up so she could guide his head back to rinse his hair.

"Can you stand?"

He nodded again, and she stepped out of the shower, grabbing a towel and quickly drying herself while Daryl stepped out behind her. She handed him a towel, and to her relief, he dried himself off.

"You're going to hate the clothes I grabbed for you, but you need warm and comfortable." She handed him the pants as she reached under the sink for the box of bandages. "Just let me cover those wounds first."

She worked as quickly as possible, trying and failing to check his injuries in the moonlight. It would have to wait until morning. "I'll see what we have to put on that in the morning. For now, you'll be okay with just the bandage."

He nodded, his hair dripping down his back. She grabbed the towel she'd used and gently rubbed his hair with it until she was satisfied he wouldn't be sleeping on a soggy pillow. "Put your shirt on, and get into bed. I'm going to get out of these wet clothes."

She went to her closet, quickly grabbing her green pants and beige sweater. She heard, rather than saw, Daryl leave the bathroom and sit on her bed. As new as the house was, her bed still creaked.

Exiting the closet, she could see a lump under her covers. She moved to the opposite side of the room so she could see his face.

"Are you warm enough? There are two comforters and a blanket. I can get more…"

He shook his head, the covers around his ears.

But God he looked so warm in there, there wasn't a part of her that didn't long to slide under the covers next to him. "I'm um….I'll be right across the hall if you need anything, okay?"

He frowned, one hand coming up out of the covers. "Stay?"

It was the first word he'd uttered since she'd found him, and despite everything, she had to bite back a smile. Nodding, she slid under the covers as he held them up, getting as close to him as she dared. He would have to bridge the remaining gap, if he wanted it.

"I'm not going to force you to talk, but when you're ready, I'm here."

He nodded. "I know."

She closed her eyes, forcing herself to get some rest now that Daryl was home and safe.

As she drifted off, she felt him scoot further under the covers and shift closer to her, burying his face in her neck with one hand resting across her hip. She allowed herself to smile, winding her arms gently around him.

"I'm here, love."


End file.
